# 119-hr-1226: Restoring Checks and Balances Act

119-hr-1226, Restoring Checks and Balances Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Stutzman, Marlin A. [R-IN-3] (R-IN); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1226
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1226
- Congress: 119
- Title: Restoring Checks and Balances Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-12
- Sponsor: Rep. Stutzman, Marlin A. [R-IN-3] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would impose an automatic five-year sunset on most new federal rules**, forcing agencies to get explicit Congressional reauthorization or let those rules lapse. It also builds in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) oversight, deadlines, and public reporting to make reauthorization requests visible. - Agencies would face new deadlines and duties. They must send Congress a reauthorization request by December 1 of the year before a rule’s scheduled sunset with a justification, related rules, and any committee recommendations, and they should bundle multiple requests where feasible. - Congress would gain a standing check on newly issued regulations. A covered rule would continue only if Congress enacts a specific authorization to keep it beyond five years. - The public and regulated parties would see more transparency and possible regulatory turnover. Agencies must publish reauthorization reports on their public websites, and any rule that sunsets cannot be reissued, enforced, revised, or otherwise acted on by the agency.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC), 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Five-year expiration for new federal rules: mixed, high. If enacted, most new agency rules would end 5 years after they take effect unless Congress reauthorizes them. To seek reauthorization, the agency head would have to send Congress a report by December 1 of the year before the rule would end. The report would justify keeping the rule, list related ru…
- Which rules count and key exemptions: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would define which agencies and rules are covered. It would exclude rules for military or foreign affairs, certain criminal law enforcement, internal agency management, formal rulemaking, and urgent health or safety emergencies. "Sunset" would mean a rule has no force or effect…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act
- 119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act
- 119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1226 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1226)

## Related
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4706)
- [119-hr-137: TCJA Permanency Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-137)
- [119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4393)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1226 (as of 2026-04-21).